Everyone that I've met has just been so happy.
It's good to be back. There's a lot to do and it's overwhelming.
What did you hope to find?
Just information.
Learning, lots of—drinking from the fire hose.
I mean, you just can't do it all in the course of three days.
Oh, but they'll try.
For the first time in three years since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Worldwide Conference of RootsTech returns as a live
and virtual event with stories,
“This is an audio recording of your grandfather that was made when he was
about 70 years old.”
world class talent, “A line drawn from me to you,
could it be what they say is true?”
And a jam-packed floor of family history specialists all at
the convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah. “Holy smokes, you guys.
We’re back!” Hosted by FamilySearch International and supported by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, Family
Discovery Day is a cornerstone of this three-day annual event.
And this year, Elder Geritt W, Gong of the Twelve
and his wife, Susan, were keynote presenters taking
a special journey back in time to
the origins of their own converging family history.
“Our Gong and Lindsey family story share wonderful similarities of faith, love,
sacrifice and hope.”
And like the Gong's family history that crosses oceans,
the global reach of RootsTech expanded its virtual audience during
the pandemic years to 3 million people internationally,
in addition to the tens of thousands in attendance.
“This year is ‘we’re uniting’ and specifically uniting families past,
present, and future. It’s been an incredible, just, growth.
You know, we went from one to the other and it feels perfect
as we kind of emerge out of that virtual-only experience
and bring people together.
And again, uniting not just those who are here,
but everyone who is joining us all over the world.”
“We’ve been getting better at tailoring the content in a
local way to to help individuals wherever they are around the world,
make the connections through family history that ultimately lead to
uniting families.”
That localization now goes out to
the vast virtual attendees in 11 languages from Asia
and Africa to Europe and Latin America,
with emcees like Dan, customizing RootsTech content for audiences abroad.
“They get to see content that talks about how to unblock your family
history. So how to get these certificates?
Where do you go from, once you’ve added everything that you know,
what else can you do to find the rest of your family?”
“We’re trying to bring these audiences together and really show them
an incredible experience,
regardless if they choose to stay home or join us here.”
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I think there are a lot of people who are extremely excited
to be back in person.”
And for those who arrived to RootsTech in Salt Lake City in person,
what a treat! Recording artist
and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks took to
the stage to share her own growing family story.
“It was really great. It was very fast paced.
We met, we got married, and then DJ came.”
Film producer and screen actor Sean Astin answers to names like “Rudy”
and “Samwise Gamgee” for the iconic roles he’s created in cinema and
for his many fans. And for his own family history,
it’s his daughter that’s pointing a new way for all of them.
“So she wrote, ’It’s the way to learn about the ancestors that live
on through me. We are the key to our ancestors,
eternal life and through my children’—
Here. You read it. Okay.
’Through my children, in a way. Wow. I’ll live forever.
So it’s important to honor that.′
This idea that. That history is alive. It's alive in us.
And what your great, great, great,
great grandparent did actually might have meaning for you.